Ski Chilton, Ph.D.

Education
University of Colorado School of Medicine, Postdoctoral Fellow, 1984-1986
Wake Forest University, PhD, 1980-1984
Western Carolina University, BS, 1976-1980
Research Area
The role of fatty acid metabolism in human diseases.
Brief Summary of Research
Dr. Chilton’s laboratory focuses on the effects of bioactive molecules within the human food supply on gene expression (nutrigenomics). More specifically, this lab focuses on the influence of polyunsaturated fatty acids and its metabolites as well as polyphenols and calorie restriction on the expression of genes that control the inflammatory response in humans.

Dr. Chilton is widely recognized in academia and industry for his work on the role of fatty acid metabolism in human diseases. He has extensive experience in leading organizations in both of these areas. Dr. Chilton is currently a Full Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Director of the Wake Forest and Brigham and Women’s Center for Botanical Lipids at Wake Forest University Health Sciences. Dr. Chilton also founded the Program in Molecular Medicine at Wake Forest University Health Sciences and helped build it into one of the most successful Programs of its kind in the United States. During his time in academia, Dr. Chilton has served as Director of Molecular Medicine, Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology, Professor of Internal Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry at the Wake Forest University as well as Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He also served as Associate Director of the Asthma and Airways Diseases Center and Associate Director of Programs in Clinical Research at Wake Forest University Health Sciences.

In 1999, Dr. Chilton founded a biotechnology company, Pilot Therapeutics, and served as the President, CEO and Chief Technology Officer from late 2000 to early 2003. At Pilot Therapeutics, Dr. Chilton developed a medical food called Airozin™ that blocks lipid mediators that cause asthma and arthritis. In 2003, Dr. Chilton was named as an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist for the Carolinas (1 of 3 finalists from over 400 CEOs in North and South Carolina in the Biotechnology/Life Sciences category).

Dr. Chilton has authored or co-authored over 110 scientific articles and book chapters. He holds 32 issued and 17 pending patents. In 2005, Dr. Chilton wrote a book, Inflammation Nation, which was published by Simon and Schuster. In 2006, Rodale published Dr. Chilton’s book, Win The War Within. Dr. Chilton's new book entitled The Gene Smart Diet was published by Rodale in 2009.

Dr. Chilton obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from Wake Forest University in 1984. He served as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Pharmacology at the University of Colorado until 1986. He has received numerous awards in his career including the Cowgill Scholar Award at Wake Forest, the Sigma Xi Research Award at Wake Forest, the 1999 Distinguished Academic and Achievement Award from Western Carolina University and The Distinguished Service and Teaching Award from the Italian Congress on Allergy and Immunology.